The restaurant's air conditioning was on full blast.
Su Qiu held a ceramic bowl and sipped her soup in small mouthfuls. She looked up at the person across from her several times but didn't speak.
A glance at him, a sip of soup, then a brief moment of distraction.
Zhou Jingqian met her gaze: "Want me to sit next to you?"
When eating at home or having breakfast in the hotel room, they always sat side by side.
Zhou Jingqian would occasionally pick up a bite of her favorite dish for her, and Su Qiu would ladle him some soup. Sitting closer made it easier for them to talk.
But now they were in a Western restaurant, where diners all sat facing each other.
"No need." Su Qiu snapped back to attention and shook her head with a smile.
Zhou Jingqian didn't press further. He ordered an extra crème brûlée for her—he still remembered she liked caramel croissants.
He also packed two other desserts to put in the fridge of her room for later.
The restaurant was just near the hotel.
As they walked out of the restaurant, Zhou Jingqian took Su Qiu's hand again. His fingers were long and slender, his palm dry and warm.
Less than five hundred meters away, they strolled slowly along the shaded green path, feeling as if they had known each other for a very long time.
"I need to pick up a package."
When they reached the hotel lobby, Su Qiu pulled her hand back.
Zhou Jingqian stood where he was and waited for her. His figure looked especially tall and straight in the high-ceilinged space, his bearing as elegant as bamboo.
Zhou Jingqian watched Su Qiu's retreating figure. The front desk staff immediately broke into the smile of someone seeing an acquaintance when they spotted her. The two chatted about something before she finally picked up the package.
Zhou Jingqian could already imagine what life had been like for his well-liked young wife during these past few days on set.
Su Qiu returned carrying three packages. The boxes were small and weightless, so Zhou Jingqian let her carry them herself.
Back in the room, Su Qiu opened the packages.
Then she turned and went into the bathroom, squeezing a dollop of strawberry-scented hand soap. She was just about to rub her hands together.
Her phone on the counter rang.
The next moment, Zhou Jingqian walked into the bathroom holding her phone: "It's Jian Yin. Want me to answer it for you?"
Su Qiu nodded: "Mm, put it on speaker."
He tapped the speaker button, and Jian Yin's excited voice came through: "Qiu! I got in touch with little Zhan! Guess what? She doesn't want a single cent, but she wants us to guarantee her voice stays trending on hot search. She wants to personally crush Feng Yan!"
Su Qiu was briefly stunned, a little surprised.
Jian Yin spoke rapidly, explaining that Zhan Rong's history with Feng Yan went beyond what was circulating online—she had also been deceived in matters of the heart.
It just so happened that Zhan Rong's father was severely ill and hospitalized at the time, with exorbitant surgery costs, which was why she had no choice but to call a truce with Feng Yan.
She had been holding onto evidence of Feng Yan's psychological manipulation from back then. She didn't want money—she just wanted Feng Yan to face his comeuppance.
Su Qiu admired her courage. After a moment of silence, she said: "If she's willing, after this is over I can help her find a job, ensure her safety, and make sure no one disturbs her."
Hearing this, Zhou Jingqian, standing nearby, began thinking about what positions at Ruis might suit that young woman.
Ruis's hiring standards were notoriously strict in the industry, but for a brave girl, Zhou Jingqian was willing to personally green-light it.
Su Qiu: "I can get her into the Xiang Group. Please tell her to rest assured about her privacy."
Zhou Jingqian: "…"
Jian Yin: "That's wonderful! Little Zhan doesn't want to stay in the industry anyway—she just wants to return to a normal life. She just can't stand the thought of Feng Yan still roaming free!"
Jian Yin: "I'll hang up now. I'm going to go tell little Zhan."
Su Qiu leaned against the bathroom counter, her thoughts drifting as the surroundings grew quiet.
Ensuring her voice stayed on hot search wasn't difficult, but if Jingce Media stepped in to protect Feng Yan, the media might not be willing to offend capital.
Su Qiu was lost in thought when her wrist suddenly warmed.
Zhou Jingqian held her hand and placed it under the faucet.
The icy water flowed over the back of her hand, and only then did Su Qiu remember she still had a handful of foam she'd forgotten to rinse off.
Zhou Jingqian washed the foam off each of her fingers, turned off the faucet, pulled out a tissue, and wrapped it around her hands, drying them carefully.
He looked down at her, the overhead light falling on his lashes, casting a delicate, gentle shadow.
"Little Qiu, would you let me help you with a small favor?"
The bathroom was cramped, his presence and faint sweet fragrance enveloping her.
Su Qiu looked up to meet his eyes. In that moment their gazes locked, she remembered the post he'd made on his Moments that morning.
Maybe it wasn't a whim. He wanted to put her at ease, to give her confidence in his own way.
He was telling her that even though their beginning was different from couples who married for love, she was his wife in the eyes of the law—the person closest to him.
Someone who could be fully revealed to everyone in his social circle.
When she needed help, she could choose her friends, choose her father, or choose him.
Su Qiu's eyes shimmered with emotion. Something in her heart seemed to be gently touched.
She grabbed his arm, stood on her tiptoes, and softly kissed his lips: "Zhou Jingqian, please help me."
On the first day of the new week, the set was calm and uneventful.
That evening, during the group dinner, many people noticed the wedding ring on Su Qiu's ring finger.
A plain platinum band with a diamond, elegant in design.
Director Zhang had worked with Su Qiu before, and upon seeing her, greeted her warmly with a smile: "I heard your husband came to visit you on set? Why didn't he stay a couple more days? Come join us for dinner tonight."
Su Qiu smiled. "He's busy with work."
Feng Yan sat diagonally across from her, swirling his wine glass. He cast a faint glance over and let out an extremely soft scoff from his throat.
Tsk, she says it like it's true.
After the dinner gathering ended, Su Qiu took a phone call and came out a bit later, ready to head back to the hotel with the crew's car. The actress playing the female lead's younger sister came running over in a panic and grabbed her wrist: "Teacher Su, can I go back with you?"
Su Qiu's peripheral vision caught a figure quickly slipping into the shadows behind the girl—it was Feng Yan. He was becoming more and more brazen.
Su Qiu held the trembling girl's hand in return, her smile gentle. "Alright, let's go together."
The next day passed just as peacefully.
At noon on the third day, Jian Yin finally finished filming in the mountains and returned to Su Qiu's city to shoot the remaining scenes.
The two hadn't seen each other in a long time. The moment they met, they embraced in a big hug, swaying back and forth while holding each other.
That evening, Zhan Rong held up her ID card and recorded a video, publicly accusing Director Feng Yan of deceiving her heart and body, and of long-term psychological manipulation and suppression. The topic instantly shot to the top of the trending searches, firmly holding the top three spots.
Feng Yan smashed two cups in his room. He immediately called Liu Qi, but the other party's phone was turned off.
Feng Yan couldn't wait. He quickly used his connections to help get the trending topic removed, but the other party demanded an exorbitant sum. Feng Yan gritted his teeth and transferred the money.
The trending topic only dropped one spot. The other party quoted another price, and Feng Yan had no choice but to throw more money at it.
This time, the trending topic dropped only one spot again, then within less than five minutes, it climbed back to the top.
Feng Yan was burning with rage and cursed into the phone. The other party laughed: "Director Feng, if you can't afford it, a black-out scandal is still exposure. Look—in just a few minutes, your name's search volume has hit an all-time high."
The veins on Feng Yan's temples throbbed.
In the past, he truly wouldn't have been afraid of these kinds of sordid rumors. But times had changed—he was at a critical moment when he urgently needed to clean up his public image.
Feng Yan stared at the video still looping on his computer screen, cursing in anger: "Who gave her the guts?!"
Feng Yan immediately thought of Su Qiu.
But then he dismissed the thought just as quickly—a little screenwriter couldn't possibly have that kind of power.
He'd thrown nearly three million at this.
Wait… three million. Feng Yan's brow twitched violently. That number was exactly the price he had originally offered Su Qiu for the fake marriage.
Impossible. It was probably just a coincidence. He refused to believe Su Qiu could have such ruthless methods and connections.
Feng Yan called Liu Qi again—still turned off. As he was frantically dealing with the mess, a new trending tag exploded: "Feng Yan, get out of the entertainment industry."
His vision went dark. Suddenly, a knock came at his door.
Standing outside were Director Zhang and several crew bodyguards.
"Director Zhang, this… what's the meaning of this?"
Director Zhang stood there with a face as dark as water: "Director Feng… Feng Yan, this is the contract termination agreement. I'm formally notifying you on behalf of the crew. Furthermore, because your personal conduct has damaged the crew's reputation, we will pursue compensation according to the terms."
This kind of matter normally wouldn't require Director Zhang to handle it personally, but he couldn't stand scum who bullied actresses by abusing their status—it was an embarrassment to the entire directing profession.
Feng Yan's face turned ashen. He clutched his phone, still wanting to call Liu Qi, but Liu Qi was already in over his head too.
"Your husband's got game—that's amazing!"
Jian Yin curled up on the sofa, scrolling through the trending topics while nudging Su Qiu's arm.
Su Qiu smiled. "Zhou Jingqian said the real boss of Jingce Media has returned from abroad, and they happened to be looking to clean house."
"The real boss? Who is it?"
"Someone with the surname He, I think."
Su Qiu was also staring at the trending topics and didn't notice the fleeting look of unease that crossed Jian Yin's face.
Half an hour later, Jingce Media's official account posted an announcement of Liu Qi's dismissal.
The statement said that Liu Qi had voluntarily submitted his written resignation.
Liu Qi had reached that position before turning forty, with a bright future ahead—there was no way he'd resign voluntarily. Most likely, some disciplinary violation had been uncovered.
Zhou Jingqian said he was doing her a small favor. That favor was anything but small.
Thinking of something, Su Qiu turned to look at her desk. On the surface sat a little rabbit ornament fishing for a carrot.
That day, she had opened the package and found two small ornaments inside—a rabbit fishing for a carrot, and a red panda lying on a bamboo-woven chair.
The night Zhou Jingqian left, he had taken the red panda with him, saying it was payment for the small favor he'd done her.
Su Qiu had smiled and agreed: "Alright, then it's yours."
When he left, she wanted to walk him down to the hotel lobby, but he wouldn't let her. He only hugged her at the door of the room and said, "See you next week."
Su Qiu picked up her phone again, wanting to send Zhou Jingqian a WeChat message. She had so many things on her mind, but in the end, it all came down to two words: thank you.
Even though they had agreed not to thank each other anymore, she still wanted to thank him—for this matter having a satisfactory ending, and for her being able to work peacefully on set afterward.
Zhou Jingqian replied instantly, sending her a photo.
The image showed his study at home. On the desk, next to the framed photos of his grandparents, there was now a little red panda ornament.
His study began to bear traces of her.
It was still a small thing, but Su Qiu could feel how much he valued what she had given him.
Su Qiu curled her legs up on the sofa, her phone resting lightly against her chin. It was Wednesday, and she was already looking forward to the weekend.
Looking forward to seeing Zhou Jingqian again.
And then, once she wrapped up filming and returned to Ningcheng, she wanted to take the initiative to ask him if he had time—maybe they could try to nurture a connection between them.